Respect Your Elders

If you are working, you are now surrounding yourself with a new type of person. Not your classmates, not your teachers, not your parents, but adults with a completely different relationship to you. Some will be your bosses, some your managers, and some your coworkers. Some of these adults soon become peers, a relationship where age doesnt matter. With the changing view of these adults comes this issue of respect.

We all know to respect our elders, but how much? That doesnt mean I have to respect my big brothers like I do my parents (I hope!). But it does mean that even if these adults are my coworkers, I probably cant talk to them like I would people my age. Age shouldnt hold us back from being friends, but what we are going to talk about, or even the language we use will be different then in the conversation between two 16 year olds.

Think of it from the adult’s perspective. He is working with someone half his age, earning the same amount of money. That cant be too fun. But even we whippersnappers can hold worthwhile conversations, so it doesn’t pay for him to isolate himself. As the younger party, we have to keep in mind this mentality of our older coworkers. Respect them, even if they are earning the same amount of money you are.